DUNEDIN.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9305, 4 January 1896, Page 4

DUNEDIN.

Dunedix, December 23. They came, they saw, they conquered, if you will permit the variation in tho threadbare expression. Such, at all events, has been our experience at tho hands of tho Now South Welshmen. Our men did much better than I expected they would have done, considering the nature of our cricket soason thus far and the little practice indulged in by them. At the same time our best is far behind the form of our visitors. Their machine-liko precision contrasts strongly with our somewhat haphazard form and position in the field. Though on tho whole our men did quite as well as any previous team still they have muoh'to learn. . In the field each of our visitors seemed to occupy the exact spot over which the ball must travel, and woe be to the striker venturing a yard beyond the crease for a hit, that with our fielding, would mean a run or runs. To the onlooker it seemed the easiest thing in the world to play the game as demonstrated by the Welshmen in the field. '■ Every ball appeared to travel to a fielder as if magnetically controlled. , It is needless to particularise the play of the visitors, I shall therefore content myself with that of our own men. With the ball Fisher did exceedingly well, and, to my mind, deserves a place in the representative team. There is not the least doubt about his being able to get wickets, and ho fields very'well.'. Downes on a fastwiclcot bears no comparison to Downes on a sticky one, though his performance with the bat was very satisfactory, he cannot rank with those bats of the colony available for selection. I can hardly see Rains in the team, while we have Fowke, though I think ho might be played on the off chance of the latter needing a spell. I must Bay I have a decided leaning towards Clarko, who is a smart field and can bat better than anyone in Otago, his not coming off in our match notwithstanding. Of our other players in the recent match I can only discourse of them relatively as mere representative provincial players. Johnson played exceedingly well, holding as of old amTbatUng with evident judgment and caution; Baker batted quite up to liis best form and still deserves a place in our interprovineial matchos. Boddington, though he made runs in the first innings, played very streakily, and was evidently out of form. Rattray, to my mind, did not deserve a place in the team, though he was captain. Hope had to be playod for his bowling, but Wells.and Black might have been left out with advantage.